Mitochondria drive cell survival in times of need
The research, published in Molecular Cell , builds on previous work by McGill professor Nahum Sonenberg, one of the senior authors of the new study. Cells in our body grow in size, mass and numbers through a process governed by a master regulator known as mTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin). Sonenberg discovered years ago that mTOR also controls protein expression in all human cells. In particular, mTOR targets the selective synthesis of proteins destined for the mitochondria, the bacteria-like structures in all our cells that generate the energy needed for cells to grow and divide. In collaboration with the research labs of McGill scientists Heidi McBride and John Bergeron, Sonenberg and his team have now shown that mTOR also controls the expression of proteins that alter the structure and function of mitochondria -- thereby protecting cells from dying. Their work has implications for cancer therapy, since new drugs that act on mTOR are currently in clinical trials ...